A gas explosion sparked a massive blaze in a San Francisco Bay Area neighborhood on Thursday, Dec. 11, injuring six people and damaging several homes, fire officials said.
About 75 firefighters responded to a report of an explosion and house fire shortly before 9:40 a.m. local time in an unincorporated community near the city of Hayward, according to Alameda County Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Nishimoto. After confirming multiple buildings were involved, Nishimoto said the incident was upgraded to a three-alarm fire.
“We had six victims in this incident,” Nishimoto said during a news conference. “All six were transported to hospitals — unknown of their status or their injuries.”
At least three buildings on two separate properties were “significantly damaged,” Nishimoto said. Another adjacent property also sustained “some minor to major damage onto the side that faces where the explosion” occurred, he added.
Aerial footage from local television stations showed a plume of smoke billowing into the sky as fire crews moved through debris scattered across the area. Video captured by a Ring doorbell camera showed an excavator digging in front of the residence that exploded as a worker stood nearby.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a post on X that it was sending a team to start an investigation into the home explosion that “followed a report of damage to a nearby underground natural gas pipeline.”
PG&E: Construction crew damaged gas line before explosion
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, known as PG&E, confirmed to USA TODAY that it was alerted at around 7:35 a.m. local time that a construction crew had struck an underground gas line while digging at a property. The construction crew is unaffiliated with PG&E.
Utility crews were immediately dispatched to the scene and discovered gas leaking at two separate locations, PG&E said. Crews were able to stop the flow of gas at around 9:25 a.m., but the explosion occurred about 10 minutes later.
“PG&E will be conducting an extensive investigation around potential cause and will support other investigations that may take place,” the company said in a statement.
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Local officials monitoring ‘situation closely’
Hayward Mayor Mark Salinas said the explosion occurred in an unincorporated area near the city. He noted that while the incident was not under his jurisdiction, his office was in contact with local officials and PG&E.
“Like many of you watching the scenes unfold on television, I am watching closely and praying that no one is seriously hurt,”
